Axolotls are famous for regrowing limbs, organs and even parts of their brains. Now researchers in Germany say the slime on their skin could hold clues to fighting drug-resistant infections and cancer. The findings are early, but they're intriguing. Peptides in the Slime Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are endangered amphibians native to the lakes and canals around Mexico … [Read more...] about Axolotl mucus peptides attack breast cancer cells and MRSA
Science & Nature
Scientists Found Ancient Americans Living Where No Humans Should Have Been
For decades, archaeologists believed the Clovis people, North America's first widespread culture, stayed mostly on the plains and in valleys. Now stone tools from the Beartooth Mountains of Montana are challenging that picture. A Child, an Antler and 100 Stone Tools The story starts in 1968, when construction workers in Park County, Montana, accidentally uncovered a … [Read more...] about Scientists Found Ancient Americans Living Where No Humans Should Have Been
Hundreds of Millions of Years Apart, These Spiders Build the Same Trap — and No Single Gene Explains It
Walk through a damp garden or cellar and you may spot a silk sheet funneling into a dark tube. Spiders from distant branches of the family tree build this exact trap, and a new genome study now shows how they got there. What a Funnel Web Actually Is A funnel web has two parts: a flat sheet of tangled, non-sticky silk and a tube-shaped retreat at one end. The spider waits … [Read more...] about Hundreds of Millions of Years Apart, These Spiders Build the Same Trap — and No Single Gene Explains It
What Are Those “Portholes” on Cows, and Why Do They Exist?
If you've ever seen a photo of a cow with what looks like a circular hatch in its side, you weren't imagining things, and it isn't a costume. It's a surgically placed device called a cannula, and it's been standard practice in agricultural research for nearly a century. What a Cannula Actually Is A cannulated cow, also called a fistulated cow, has undergone surgery to … [Read more...] about What Are Those “Portholes” on Cows, and Why Do They Exist?
Turkmenistan’s “Door to Hell” Has Burned for More Than 50 Years — Now Its Flames Are Fading, and Officials Want Them Out
For decades, a flaming pit in the Karakum Desert has drawn travelers who want to stand at the edge of what looks like the underworld. Now the Darvaza gas crater is losing its glow. Turkmenistan says it is doing it on purpose. A Fire That Wouldn't Quit The Darvaza gas crater, also called the Door to Hell or the Shining of the Karakum, sits in the desert about 260 … [Read more...] about Turkmenistan’s “Door to Hell” Has Burned for More Than 50 Years — Now Its Flames Are Fading, and Officials Want Them Out